When I could run Windows 3.1, I had no multimedia thing. I have found PC Speaker driver somewhere, and it could play event sounds like start-up, but could not play in ordinary player. Same WAV in player won't play because it is not "event sound". And no MIDI of course. Windows 3.1 was somewhere around, but it was nothing to do there. Graphics on EGA was slow. Windows 3.1 was telling us: if you want your programs to work fast, write them for bare metal, and we were using bare metal programs in DOS and writing bare metal programs for DOS.

First time I heard MIDI was Windows 98 already. Graphics of Windows was still slow compared to DOS, but Windows 98 offered more experience. Other developers were raising questions why do they write slow programs for Windows when they could write fast programs for DOS. From times of sound card arrival I recall that there was a bridge between CD-ROM and soundcard, and DOS Navigator could control playback of CD tracks, and that was they way we had music for ordinary activity.

Most memories about MIDI are related to custom Duke Nukem 3D maps. Custom maps sometimes included custom graphics in ART files and custom music in MIDI format. Duke Nukem 3D is the most recognized MIDI player. In Windows I could download Macromedia Flash file, observe the slide show, think "guys, when will you learn to program?" Exit Windows, run Duke Nukem 3D, wonder why can some programmers deliver real time 3D graphics, and other programmers cannot even draw 2D. Oh, and MIDI plays in the background because Duke Nukem 3D music is MIDI.